Some insights for a relationship marketing model integrating SERVQUAL and customer loyalty in dental clinics

The demand of new services, the emergence of new business models, insufficient innovation, underestimation of customer loyalty and reluctance to adopt new management are evidence of the deficiencies and the lack of research about the relations between patients and dental clinics. In this article we propose the structure of a model of Relationship Marketing (RM) in the dental clinic that integrates information from SERVQUAL, Customer Loyalty (CL) and activities of RM and combines the vision of dentist and patient. The first pilot study on dentists showed that: they recognize the value of maintaining better patients however they don't perform RM actions to retain them. They have databases of patients but not sophisticated enough as compared to RM tools. They perceive that the patients value "Assurance" and "Empathy" (two dimensions of service quality). Finally, they indicate that a loyal patient not necessarily pays more by the service. The proposed model will be validated using Fuzzy Logic simulation and the ultimate goal of this research line is contributing a new definition of CL.

The determinants of the quality of Sales-Marketing Interface in a Multinational Customer Brand Focused Company: The Latin American Branches

Customer evolution and changes in consumers, determine the fact that the quality of the interface between marketing and sales may represent a true competitive advantage for the firm. Building on multidimensional theoretical and empirical models developed in Europe and on social network analysis, the organizational interface between the marketing and sales departments of a multinational high-growth company with operations in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is studied. Both, attitudinal and social network measures of information exchange are used to make operational the nature and quality of the interface and its impact on performance. Results show the existence of a positive relationship of formalization, joint planning, teamwork, trust and information transfer on interface quality, as well as a positive relationship between interface quality and business performance. We conclude that efficient design and organizational management of the exchange network are essential for the successful performance of consumer goods companies that seek to develop distinctive capabilities to adapt to markets that experience vertiginous changes

Integrated plant monitoring to improve plant operation strategy and results

The more and more demanding conditions in the power generation sector requires to apply all the available technologies to optimize processes and reduce costs. An integrated asset management strategy, combining technical analysis and operation and maintenance management can help to improve plant performance, flexibility and reliability. In order to deploy such a model it is necessary to combine plant data and specific equipment condition information, with different systems devoted to analyze performance and equipment condition, and take advantage of the results to support operation and maintenance decisions. This model that has been dealt in certain detail for electricity transmission and distribution networks, is not yet broadly extended in the power generation sector, as proposed in this study for the case of a combined power plant. Its application would turn in direct benefit for the operation and maintenance and for the interaction to the energy market

European legislation and implementation measures in the management of construction and demolition waste.

The intense activity in the construction sector during the last decade has generated huge volumes of construction and demolition (C&D) waste. In average, Europe has generated around 890 million tonnes of construction and demolition waste per year. Although now the activity has entered in a phase of decline, due to the change of the economic cycle, we don’t have to forget all the problems caused by such waste, or rather, by their management which is still far from achieving the overall target of 70% for C&D waste --excludes soil and stones not containing dangerous substances-- should be recycled in the EU Countries by 2020 (Waste Framework Directive). But in fact, the reality is that only 50% of the C&D waste generated in EU is recycled and 40% of it corresponds to the recycling of soil and stones not containing dangerous substances. Aware of this situation, the European Countries are implementing national policies as well as different measures to prevent the waste that can be avoidable and to promote measures to increase recycling and recovering. In this aspect, this article gives an overview of the amount of C&D waste generated in European countries, as well as the amount of this waste that is being recycled and the different measures that European countries have applied to solve this situation.

Legal Aspects which Implement Good Practice Measures in the Management of Construction and Demolition Waste

The construction industry, one of the most important ones in the development of a country, generates unavoidable impacts on the environment. The social demand towards greater respect for the environment is a high and general outcry. Therefore, the construction industry needs to reduce the impact it produces. Proper waste management is not enough; we must take a further step in environmental management, where new measures need to be introduced for the prevention at source, such as good practices to promote recycling. Following the amendment of the legal frame applicable to Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D waste), important developments have been incorporated in European and International laws, aiming to promote the culture of reusing and recycling. This change of mindset, that is progressively taking place in society, is allowing for the consideration of C&D waste no longer as an unusable waste, but as a reusable material. The main objective of the work presented in this paper is to enhance C&D waste management systems through the development of preventive measures during the construction process. These measures concern all the agents intervening in the construction process as only the personal implication of all of them can ensure an efficient management of the C&D waste generated. Finally, a model based on preventive measures achieves organizational cohesion between the different stages of the construction process, as well as promoting the conservation of raw materials through the use and waste minimization. All of these in order to achieve a C&D waste management system, whose primary goal is zero waste generation

Proposal for the Management of temporal and semantic components of Geographic Information

This poster raises the issue of a research work oriented to the storage, retrieval, representation and analysis of dynamic GI, taking into account The ultimate objective is the modelling and representation of the dynamic nature of geographic features, establishing mechanisms to store geometries enriched with a temporal structure (regardless of space) and a set of semantic descriptors detailing and clarifying the nature of the represented features and their temporality. the semantic, the temporal and the spatiotemporal components. We intend to define a set of methods, rules and restrictions for the adequate integration of these components into the primary elements of the GI: theme, location, time [1]. We intend to establish and incorporate three new structures (layers) into the core of data storage by using mark-up languages: a semantictemporal structure, a geosemantic structure, and an incremental spatiotemporal structure. Thus, data would be provided with the capability of pinpointing and expressing their own basic and temporal characteristics, enabling them to interact each other according to their context, and their time and meaning relationships that could be eventually established

Proposal for the Management of temporal and semantic components of Geographic Information

This poster raises the issue of a research work oriented to the storage, retrieval, representation and analysis of dynamic GI, taking into account the semantic, the temporal and the spatiotemporal components. We intend to define a set of methods, rules and restrictions for the adequate integration of these components into the primary elements of the GI: theme, location, time [1]. We intend to establish and incorporate three new structures (layers) into the core of data storage by using mark-up languages: a semantictemporal structure, a geosemantic structure, and an incremental spatiotemporal structure. The ultimate objective is the modelling and representation of the dynamic nature of geographic features, establishing mechanisms to store geometries enriched with a temporal structure (regardless of space) and a set of semantic descriptors detailing and clarifying the nature of the represented features and their temporality. Thus, data would be provided with the capability of pinpointing and expressing their own basic and temporal characteristics, enabling them to interact each other according to their context, and their time and meaning relationships that could be eventually established

Air Traffic Management - Historic background and present situation

Ponencia invitada sobre gestion de trafico aereo en el curso de verano de la UPM Research in Decision Support Systems for future Air Traffic Management

AUTOFLY-Aid: Flight Deck Automation Support with Dynamic 4D Trajectory Management for Responsive and Adaptive Airborne Collision Avoidance

AUTOFLY-Aid Project aims to develop and demonstrate novel automation support algorithms and tools to the flight crew for flight critical collision avoidance using “dynamic 4D trajectory management”. The automation support system is envisioned to improve the primary shortcomings of TCAS, and to aid the pilot through add-on avionics/head-up displays and reality augmentation devices in dynamically evolving collision avoidance scenarios. The main theoretical innovative and novel concepts to be developed by AUTOFLY-Aid project are a) design and development of the mathematical models of the full composite airspace picture from the flight deck’s perspective, as seen/measured/informed by the aircraft flying in SESAR 2020, b) design and development of a dynamic trajectory planning algorithm that can generate at real-time (on the order of seconds) flyable (i.e. dynamically and performance-wise feasible) alternative trajectories across the evolving stochastic composite airspace picture (which includes new conflicts, blunder risks, terrain and weather limitations) and c) development and testing of the Collision Avoidance Automation Support System on a Boeing 737 NG FNPT II Flight Simulator with synthetic vision and reality augmentation while providing the flight crew with quantified and visual understanding of collision risks in terms of time and directions and countermeasures.

A Cost-Benefit analysis model for technical debt management considering uncertainty and time

In the last few years, technical debt has been used as a useful means for making the intrinsic cost of the internal software quality weaknesses visible. This visibility is made possible by quantifying this cost. Specifically, technical debt is expressed in terms of two main concepts: principal and interest. The principal is the cost of eliminating or reducing the impact of a, so called, technical debt item in a software system; whereas the interest is the recurring cost, over a time period, of not eliminating a technical debt item. Previous works about technical debt are mainly focused on estimating principal and interest, and on performing a cost-benefit analysis. This cost-benefit analysis allows one to determine if to remove technical debt is profitable and to prioritize which items incurring in technical debt should be fixed first. Nevertheless, for these previous works technical debt is flat along the time. However the introduction of new factors to estimate technical debt may produce non flat models that allow us to produce more accurate predictions. These factors should be used to estimate principal and interest, and to perform cost-benefit analysis related to technical debt. In this paper, we take a step forward introducing the uncertainty about the interest, and the time frame factors so that it becomes possible to depict a number of possible future scenarios. Estimations obtained without considering the possible evolution of the interest over time may be less accurate as they consider simplistic scenarios without changes.

Improving the management of water and nitrogen resources in cropping systems by using simulation models

Los modelos de simulación de cultivos permiten analizar varias combinaciones de laboreo-rotación y explorar escenarios de manejo. El modelo DSSAT fue evaluado bajo condiciones de secano en un experimento de campo de 16 años en la semiárida España central. Se evaluó el efecto del sistema de laboreo y las rotaciones basadas en cereales de invierno, en el rendimiento del cultivo y la calidad del suelo. Los modelos CERES y CROPGRO se utilizaron para simular el crecimiento y rendimiento del cultivo, mientras que el modelo DSSAT CENTURY se utilizó en las simulaciones de SOC y SN. Tanto las observaciones de campo como las simulaciones con CERES-Barley, mostraron que el rendimiento en grano de la cebada era mas bajo para el cereal continuo (BB) que para las rotaciones de veza (VB) y barbecho (FB) en ambos sistemas de laboreo. El modelo predijo más nitrógeno disponible en el laboreo convencional (CT) que en el no laboreo (NT) conduciendo a un mayor rendimiento en el CT. El SOC y el SN en la capa superficial del suelo, fueron mayores en NT que en CT, y disminuyeron con la profundidad en los valores tanto observados como simulados. Las mejores combinaciones para las condiciones de secano estudiadas fueron CT-VB y CT-FB, pero CT presentó menor contenido en SN y SOC que NT. El efecto beneficioso del NT en SOC y SN bajo condiciones Mediterráneas semiáridas puede ser identificado por observaciones de campo y por simulaciones de modelos de cultivos. La simulación del balance de agua en sistemas de cultivo es una herramienta útil para estudiar como el agua puede ser utilizado eficientemente. La comparación del balance de agua de DSSAT , con una simple aproximación “tipping bucket”, con el modelo WAVE más mecanicista, el cual integra la ecuación de Richard , es un potente método para valorar el funcionamiento del modelo. Los parámetros de suelo fueron calibrados usando el método de optimización global Simulated Annealing (SA). Un lisímetro continuo de pesada en suelo desnudo suministró los valores observados de drenaje y evapotranspiración (ET) mientras que el contenido de agua en el suelo (SW) fue suministrado por sensores de capacitancia. Ambos modelos funcionaron bien después de la optimización de los parámetros de suelo con SA, simulando el balance de agua en el suelo para el período de calibración. Para el período de validación, los modelos optimizados predijeron bien el contenido de agua en el suelo y la evaporación del suelo a lo largo del tiempo. Sin embargo, el drenaje fue predicho mejor con WAVE que con DSSAT, el cual presentó mayores errores en los valores acumulados. Esto podría ser debido a la naturaleza mecanicista de WAVE frente a la naturaleza más funcional de DSSAT. Los buenos resultados de WAVE indican que, después de la calibración, este puede ser utilizado como "benchmark" para otros modelos para periodos en los que no haya medidas de campo del drenaje. El funcionamiento de DSSAT-CENTURY en la simulación de SOC y N depende fuertemente del proceso de inicialización. Se propuso como método alternativo (Met.2) la inicialización de las fracciones de SOC a partir de medidas de mineralización aparente del suelo (Napmin). El Met.2 se comparó con el método de inicialización de Basso et al. (2011) (Met.1), aplicando ambos métodos a un experimento de campo de 4 años en un área en regadío de España central. Nmin y Napmin fueron sobreestimados con el Met.1, ya que la fracción estable obtenida (SOC3) en las capas superficiales del suelo fue más baja que con Met.2. El N lixiviado simulado fue similar en los dos métodos, con buenos resultados en los tratamientos de barbecho y cebada. El Met.1 subestimó el SOC en la capa superficial del suelo cuando se comparó con una serie observada de 12 años. El crecimiento y rendimiento del cultivo fueron adecuadamente simulados con ambos métodos, pero el N en la parte aérea de la planta y en el grano fueron sobreestimados con el Met.1. Los resultados variaron significativamente con las fracciones iniciales de SOC, resaltando la importancia del método de inicialización. El Met.2 ofrece una alternativa para la inicialización del modelo CENTURY, mejorando la simulación de procesos de N en el suelo. La continua emergencia de nuevas variedades de híbridos modernos de maíz limita la aplicación de modelos de simulación de cultivos, ya que estos nuevos híbridos necesitan ser calibrados en el campo para ser adecuados para su uso en los modelos. El desarrollo de relaciones basadas en la duración del ciclo, simplificaría los requerimientos de calibración facilitando la rápida incorporación de nuevos cultivares en DSSAT. Seis híbridos de maiz (FAO 300 hasta FAO 700) fueron cultivados en un experimento de campo de dos años en un área semiárida de regadío en España central. Los coeficientes genéticos fueron obtenidos secuencialmente, comenzando con los parámetros de desarrollo fenológico (P1, P2, P5 and PHINT), seguido de los parámetros de crecimiento del cultivo (G2 and G3). Se continuó el procedimiento hasta que la salida de las simulaciones estuvo en concordancia con las observaciones fenológicas de campo. Después de la calibración, los parámetros simulados se ajustaron bien a los parámetros observados, con bajos RMSE en todos los casos. Los P1 y P5 calibrados, incrementaron con la duración del ciclo. P1 fue una función lineal del tiempo térmico (TT) desde emergencia hasta floración y P5 estuvo linealmente relacionada con el TT desde floración a madurez. No hubo diferencias significativas en PHINT entre híbridos de FAO-500 a 700 , ya que tuvieron un número de hojas similar. Como los coeficientes fenológicos estuvieron directamente relacionados con la duración del ciclo, sería posible desarrollar rangos y correlaciones que permitan estimar dichos coeficientes a partir de la clasificación del ciclo. ABSTRACT Crop simulation models allow analyzing various tillage-rotation combinations and exploring management scenarios. DSSAT model was tested under rainfed conditions in a 16-year field experiment in semiarid central Spain. The effect of tillage system and winter cereal-based rotations on the crop yield and soil quality was evaluated. The CERES and CROPGRO models were used to simulate crop growth and yield, while the DSSAT CENTURY was used in the SOC and SN simulations. Both field observations and CERES-Barley simulations, showed that barley grain yield was lower for continuous cereal (BB) than for vetch (VB) and fallow (FB) rotations for both tillage systems. The model predicted higher nitrogen availability in the conventional tillage (CT) than in the no tillage (NT) leading to a higher yield in the CT. The SOC and SN in the top layer, were higher in NT than in CT, and decreased with depth in both simulated and observed values. The best combinations for the dry land conditions studied were CT-VB and CT-FB, but CT presented lower SN and SOC content than NT. The beneficial effect of NT on SOC and SN under semiarid Mediterranean conditions can be identified by field observations and by crop model simulations. The simulation of the water balance in cropping systems is a useful tool to study how water can be used efficiently. The comparison of DSSAT soil water balance, with a simpler “tipping bucket” approach, with the more mechanistic WAVE model, which integrates Richard’s equation, is a powerful method to assess model performance. The soil parameters were calibrated by using the Simulated Annealing (SA) global optimizing method. A continuous weighing lysimeter in a bare fallow provided the observed values of drainage and evapotranspiration (ET) while soil water content (SW) was supplied by capacitance sensors. Both models performed well after optimizing soil parameters with SA, simulating the soil water balance components for the calibrated period. For the validation period, the optimized models predicted well soil water content and soil evaporation over time. However, drainage was predicted better by WAVE than by DSSAT, which presented larger errors in the cumulative values. That could be due to the mechanistic nature of WAVE against the more functional nature of DSSAT. The good results from WAVE indicate that, after calibration, it could be used as benchmark for other models for periods when no drainage field measurements are available. The performance of DSSAT-CENTURY when simulating SOC and N strongly depends on the initialization process. Initialization of the SOC pools from apparent soil N mineralization (Napmin) measurements was proposed as alternative method (Met.2). Method 2 was compared to the Basso et al. (2011) initialization method (Met.1), by applying both methods to a 4-year field experiment in a irrigated area of central Spain. Nmin and Napmin were overestimated by Met.1, since the obtained stable pool (SOC3) in the upper layers was lower than from Met.2. Simulated N leaching was similar for both methods, with good results in fallow and barley treatments. Method 1 underestimated topsoil SOC when compared with a 12-year observed serial. Crop growth and yield were properly simulated by both methods, but N in shoots and grain were overestimated by Met.1. Results varied significantly with the initial SOC pools, highlighting the importance of the initialization procedure. Method 2 offers an alternative to initialize the CENTURY model, enhancing the simulation of soil N processes. The continuous emergence of new varieties of modern maize hybrids limits the application of crop simulation models, since these new hybrids should be calibrated in the field to be suitable for model use. The development of relationships based on the cycle duration, would simplify the calibration requirements facilitating the rapid incorporation of new cultivars into DSSAT. Six maize hybrids (FAO 300 through FAO 700) were grown in a 2-year field experiment in a semiarid irrigated area of central Spain. Genetic coefficients were obtained sequentially, starting with the phenological development parameters (P1, P2, P5 and PHINT), followed by the crop growth parameters (G2 and G3). The procedure was continued until the simulated outputs were in good agreement with the field phenological observations. After calibration, simulated parameters matched observed parameters well, with low RMSE in most cases. The calibrated P1 and P5 increased with the duration of the cycle. P1 was a linear function of the thermal time (TT) from emergence to silking and P5 was linearly related with the TT from silking to maturity . There were no significant differences in PHINT between hybrids from FAO-500 to 700 , as they had similar leaf number. Since phenological coefficients were directly related with the cycle duration, it would be possible to develop ranges and correlations which allow to estimate such coefficients from the cycle classification.

Contribution towards intelligent service management in wearable and ubiquitous devices

Hoy en día asistimos a un creciente interés por parte de la sociedad hacia el cuidado de la salud. Esta afirmación viene apoyada por dos realidades. Por una parte, el aumento de las prácticas saludables (actividad deportiva, cuidado de la alimentación, etc.). De igual manera, el auge de los dispositivos inteligentes (relojes, móviles o pulseras) capaces de medir distintos parámetros físicos como el pulso cardíaco, el ritmo respiratorio, la distancia recorrida, las calorías consumidas, etc. Combinando ambos factores (interés por el estado de salud y disponibilidad comercial de dispositivos inteligentes) están surgiendo multitud de aplicaciones capaces no solo de controlar el estado actual de salud, también de recomendar al usuario cambios de hábitos que lleven hacia una mejora en su condición física. En este contexto, los llamados dispositivos llevables (weareables) unidos al paradigma de Internet de las cosas (IoT, del inglés Internet of Things) permiten la aparición de nuevos nichos de mercado para aplicaciones que no solo se centran en la mejora de la condición física, ya que van más allá proponiendo soluciones para el cuidado de pacientes enfermos, la vigilancia de niños o ancianos, la defensa y la seguridad, la monitorización de agentes de riesgo (como bomberos o policías) y un largo etcétera de aplicaciones por llegar. El paradigma de IoT se puede desarrollar basándose en las existentes redes de sensores inalámbricos (WSN, del inglés Wireless Sensor Network). La conexión de los ya mencionados dispositivos llevables a estas redes puede facilitar la transición de nuevos usuarios hacia aplicaciones IoT. Pero uno de los problemas intrínsecos a estas redes es su heterogeneidad. En efecto, existen multitud de sistemas operativos, protocolos de comunicación, plataformas de desarrollo, soluciones propietarias, etc. El principal objetivo de esta tesis es realizar aportaciones significativas para solucionar no solo el problema de la heterogeneidad, sino también de dotar de mecanismos de seguridad suficientes para salvaguardad la integridad de los datos intercambiados en este tipo de aplicaciones. Algo de suma importancia ya que los datos médicos y biométricos de los usuarios están protegidos por leyes nacionales y comunitarias. Para lograr dichos objetivos, se comenzó con la realización de un completo estudio del estado del arte en tecnologías relacionadas con el marco de investigación (plataformas y estándares para WSNs e IoT, plataformas de implementación distribuidas, dispositivos llevables y sistemas operativos y lenguajes de programación). Este estudio sirvió para tomar decisiones de diseño fundamentadas en las tres contribuciones principales de esta tesis: un bus de servicios para dispositivos llevables (WDSB, Wearable Device Service Bus) basado en tecnologías ya existentes tales como ESB, WWBAN, WSN e IoT); un protocolo de comunicaciones inter-dominio para dispositivos llevables (WIDP, Wearable Inter-Domain communication Protocol) que integra en una misma solución protocolos capaces de ser implementados en dispositivos de bajas capacidades (como lo son los dispositivos llevables y los que forman parte de WSNs); y finalmente, la tercera contribución relevante es una propuesta de seguridad para WSN basada en la aplicación de dominios de confianza. Aunque las contribuciones aquí recogidas son de aplicación genérica, para su validación se utilizó un escenario concreto de aplicación: una solución para control de parámetros físicos en entornos deportivos, desarrollada dentro del proyecto europeo de investigación “LifeWear”. En este escenario se desplegaron todos los elementos necesarios para validar las contribuciones principales de esta tesis y, además, se realizó una aplicación para dispositivos móviles por parte de uno de los socios del proyecto (lo que contribuyó con una validación externa de la solución). En este escenario se usaron dispositivos llevables tales como un reloj inteligente, un teléfono móvil con sistema operativo Android y un medidor del ritmo cardíaco inalámbrico capaz de obtener distintos parámetros fisiológicos del deportista. Sobre este escenario se realizaron diversas pruebas de validación mediante las cuales se obtuvieron resultados satisfactorios. ABSTRACT Nowadays, society is shifting towards a growing interest and concern on health care. This phenomenon can be acknowledged by two facts: first, the increasing number of people practising some kind of healthy activity (sports, balanced diet, etc.). Secondly, the growing number of commercial wearable smart devices (smartwatches or bands) able to measure physiological parameters such as heart rate, breathing rate, distance or consumed calories. A large number of applications combining both facts are appearing. These applications are not only able to monitor the health status of the user, but also to provide recommendations about routines in order to improve the mentioned health status. In this context, wearable devices merged with the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm enable the proliferation of new market segments for these health wearablebased applications. Furthermore, these applications can provide solutions for the elderly or baby care, in-hospital or in-home patient monitoring, security and defence fields or an unforeseen number of future applications. The introduced IoT paradigm can be developed with the usage of existing Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) by connecting the novel wearable devices to them. In this way, the migration of new users and actors to the IoT environment will be eased. However, a major issue appears in this environment: heterogeneity. In fact, there is a large number of operating systems, hardware platforms, communication and application protocols or programming languages, each of them with unique features. The main objective of this thesis is defining and implementing a solution for the intelligent service management in wearable and ubiquitous devices so as to solve the heterogeneity issues that are presented when dealing with interoperability and interconnectivity of devices and software of different nature. Additionally, a security schema based on trust domains is proposed as a solution to the privacy problems arising when private data (e.g., biomedical parameters or user identification) is broadcasted in a wireless network. The proposal has been made after a comprehensive state-of-the-art analysis, and includes the design of a Wearable Device Service Bus (WDSB) including the technologies collected in the requirement analysis (ESB, WWBAN, WSN and IoT). Applications are able to access the WSN services regardless of the platform and operating system where they are running. Besides, this proposal also includes the design of a Wearable Inter-Domain communication Protocols set (WIDP) which integrates lightweight protocols suitable to be used in low-capacities devices (REST, JSON, AMQP, CoAP, etc...). Furthermore, a security solution for service management based on a trustworthy domains model to deploy security services in WSNs has been designed. Although the proposal is a generic framework for applications based on services provided by wearable devices, an application scenario for testing purposes has been included. In this validation scenario it has been presented an autonomous physical condition performance system, based on a WSN, bringing the possibility to include several elements in an IoT scenario: a smartwatch, a physiological monitoring device and a smartphone. In summary, the general objective of this thesis is solving the heterogeneity and security challenges arising when developing applications for WSNs and wearable devices. As it has been presented in the thesis, the solution proposed has been successfully validated in a real scenario and the obtained results were satisfactory.

Introducción de las plataformas tecnológicas 2.0 y la innovación abierta en la estrategia empresarial: estudio del sector de componentes electrónicos

Este proyecto se encuadra dentro de los estudios de impacto que están produciendo en las empresas el desarrollo e incorporación de las nuevas tecnologías, y más concretamente la implantación de las aplicaciones provenientes de la denominada web 2.0. Se conoce con este nombre a las herramientas web que permiten una comunicación bidireccional, es decir, el usuario y la empresa pueden intercambiar opiniones, de manera que el usuario adquiere un nuevo papel más protagonista, presentando ideas, aclaraciones, gustos, críticas...que son tenidas en cuenta por la empresa para realizar su actividad. De esta manera se ha roto con el modelo anterior donde el usuario solo podía consultar la información de una página web, era simple receptor de la información. El objetivo de este estudio es conocer cómo las empresas están incorporando estas tecnologías 2.0 a su estrategia empresarial, y cómo términos como innovación abierta o co-creación están tomando mayor importancia en el entorno empresarial gracias a estas nuevas tecnologías. Si bien existen estudios a nivel de consultoría que generalmente aportan información sobre cuáles son las plataformas 2.0 más utilizadas en el mundo empresarial, no se han encontrado hasta ahora estudios que vinculen estas plataformas entre ellas y con la estructura empresarial, para poder definir un perfil de la organización que trabaja con ellas o el nivel de madurez de la incorporación de estas tecnologías en las organizaciones. Analizar cualitativamente estos aspectos, significa estudiar los nuevos conceptos incorporados a las tecnologías 2.0 en la empresa. Un análisis cuantitativo nos llevaría a estudiar de manera práctica que tipo de recursos y en qué cantidad se están utilizando y su vinculación con la estructura de la organización. Para ello: En una primera parte, nos centraremos en las diferentes formas en las que se puede acceder a Internet, y a continuación enfocaremos el estudio en los dispositivos móviles que nos permiten la conexión desde cualquier lugar y en cualquier instante. Con esto conseguiremos tener una situación actual del mercado de las TIC y veremos cómo las empresas han ido construyendo nuevas políticas para cambiar su estrategia con el fin de estar presentes en los nuevos dispositivos móviles y no perder cuota de mercado. Tras ello, veremos porqué conceptos como el de innovación abierta y proceso de co-creación han sido posibles gracias a la implantación de las tecnologías 2.0 en el ámbito empresarial, facilitando que la empresa y el usuario final cooperen y vayan de la mano en una misma dirección; la empresa se surte de las aportaciones que los usuarios ofrecen, y por otra parte el usuario se siente valorado por la empresa para conseguir la meta final. Es aquí donde comprobaremos la transformación que ha sufrido la empresa en sus distintos sectores departamentales (marketing, ventas, recursos humanos y atención al cliente) como consecuencia de la incorporación de las herramientas 2.0 al mundo laboral. Por todo ello, se enumerarán los distintos usos que realizan las empresas de las redes social más habituales, y además se describirán las principales herramientas y/o aplicaciones para monitorizar las redes sociales que servirán a la empresa para hacer un seguimiento de las mismas. La segunda parte del proyecto será un caso práctico y servirá para ofrecer una visión más real del estado actual de las empresas y su relación con las redes sociales. Para la recopilación de los datos se han escogido las empresas que pertenecen al sector de la “Fabricación de productos informáticos, electrónicos y ópticos”. En cuento a las redes sociales elegidas, han sido Facebook y Twitter. Este estudio práctico nos hará entender mejor el impacto directo que tienen las redes sociales en la actividad diaria de las empresas. Finalmente se realizarán una serie de consideraciones a modo de directrices que servirán para tratar de entender cómo se están utilizando las redes sociales en el entorno empresarial y cuál puede ser la manera más óptima de utilizarlas según el estudio presentado. ABSTRACT. This project is part of the impact studies arisen in companies by the development and incorporation of new technologies and, specifically, by the implementation of applications from the so-called web 2.0. That is how we call the web tools that allow bidirectional communication, this is, user and company can exchange opinions, in such a way that users acquire a leading role, submitting ideas, explanations, preferences, criticism... considered by the company when performing its activities. This way, we have broken with the previous model, where users could only check information from a web page and were simple information recipients. The objective of this study is to get to know how companies are incorporating these technologies 2.0 to their business strategy and how terms such as open innovation or co-creation are becoming more important in the business sphere thanks to these new technologies. Even if there are consulting studies that generally provide information about which are the platforms 2.0 more used in the business world, no studies have been found until now that link such platforms among them and with the business structure, in order to define a profile of the organization that works with them or the level of development of the incorporation of these technologies in the organizations. A qualitative analysis of these aspects involves studying the new concepts incorporated to technologies 2.0 by companies. A qualitative analysis would lead us to study in a practical manner what kind of resources and what amount are being used and their relation with the organization structure. Therefore: First, we will focus on the different ways to gain access to the Internet and, afterwards, we will focus the study on mobile devices that allow us to be connected everywhere any time. This way, we will manage to obtain a present situation of the ICT market and we will see how companies have constructed new policies to change their strategy in order to be present in the new mobile devices without losing their market share. Later, we will review why concepts such as open innovation and co-creation process have been possible thanks to the implementation of technologies 2.0 in the business environment, facilitating that companies and final users cooperate and walk hand in hand in the same direction; companies stock up on the contributions offered by users and, on the other hand, users feel appreciated by companies in the achievement of the final goal. Here we will confirm the transformation suffering by companies in different department sectors (marketing, sales, human resources and customer service) as a result of the incorporation of tools 2.0 to the work environment. Therefore, we will enumerate the different uses that companies make of the most common social networks, describing the main tools and/or applications to monitor social networks used by companies to follow them up. The second part of the project will be a case study to offer a more real vision of the present status of companies and their relation with social networks. To collect the data, we have selected companies from the “Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products” industry. The social networks chosen are Facebook and Twitter. This case study will help us to get a better understanding of the direct impact of social networks in companies’ daily activity. Finally, we will offer a series of considerations and guidelines to try to understand how are social networks being used in the business environment and what can be the most suitable manner to use them according to this study.

Applications of Formal Languages to Management of Manned and Unmanned Aircraft

En el futuro, la gestión del tráfico aéreo (ATM, del inglés air traffic management) requerirá un cambio de paradigma, de la gestión principalmente táctica de hoy, a las denominadas operaciones basadas en trayectoria. Un incremento en el nivel de automatización liberará al personal de ATM —controladores, tripulación, etc.— de muchas de las tareas que realizan hoy. Las personas seguirán siendo el elemento central en la gestión del tráfico aéreo del futuro, pero lo serán mediante la gestión y toma de decisiones. Se espera que estas dos mejoras traigan un incremento en la eficiencia de la gestión del tráfico aéreo que permita hacer frente al incremento previsto en la demanda de transporte aéreo. Para aplicar el concepto de operaciones basadas en trayectoria, el usuario del espacio aéreo (la aerolínea, piloto, u operador) y el proveedor del servicio de navegación aérea deben negociar las trayectorias mediante un proceso de toma de decisiones colaborativo. En esta negociación, es necesaria una forma adecuada de compartir dichas trayectorias. Compartir la trayectoria completa requeriría un gran ancho de banda, y la trayectoria compartida podría invalidarse si cambiase la predicción meteorológica. En su lugar, podría compartirse una descripción de la trayectoria independiente de las condiciones meteorológicas, de manera que la trayectoria real se pudiese calcular a partir de dicha descripción. Esta descripción de la trayectoria debería ser fácil de procesar usando un programa de ordenador —ya que parte del proceso de toma de decisiones estará automatizado—, pero también fácil de entender para un operador humano —que será el que supervise el proceso y tome las decisiones oportunas—. Esta tesis presenta una serie de lenguajes formales que pueden usarse para este propósito. Estos lenguajes proporcionan los medios para describir trayectorias de aviones durante todas las fases de vuelo, desde la maniobra de push-back (remolcado hasta la calle de rodaje), hasta la llegada a la terminal del aeropuerto de destino. También permiten describir trayectorias tanto de aeronaves tripuladas como no tripuladas, incluyendo aviones de ala fija y cuadricópteros. Algunos de estos lenguajes están estrechamente relacionados entre sí, y organizados en una jerarquía. Uno de los lenguajes fundamentales de esta jerarquía, llamado aircraft intent description language (AIDL), ya había sido desarrollado con anterioridad a esta tesis. Este lenguaje fue derivado de las ecuaciones del movimiento de los aviones de ala fija, y puede utilizarse para describir sin ambigüedad trayectorias de este tipo de aeronaves. Una variante de este lenguaje, denominada quadrotor AIDL (QR-AIDL), ha sido desarrollada en esta tesis para permitir describir trayectorias de cuadricópteros con el mismo nivel de detalle. Seguidamente, otro lenguaje, denominado intent composite description language (ICDL), se apoya en los dos lenguajes anteriores, ofreciendo más flexibilidad para describir algunas partes de la trayectoria y dejar otras sin especificar. El ICDL se usa para proporcionar descripciones genéricas de maniobras comunes, que después se particularizan y combinan para formar descripciones complejas de un vuelo. Otro lenguaje puede construirse a partir del ICDL, denominado flight intent description language (FIDL). El FIDL especifica requisitos de alto nivel sobre las trayectorias —incluyendo restricciones y objetivos—, pero puede utilizar características del ICDL para proporcionar niveles de detalle arbitrarios en las distintas partes de un vuelo. Tanto el ICDL como el FIDL han sido desarrollados en colaboración con Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE). También se ha desarrollado un lenguaje para definir misiones en las que interactúan varias aeronaves, el mission intent description language (MIDL). Este lenguaje se basa en el FIDL y mantiene todo su poder expresivo, a la vez que proporciona nuevas semánticas para describir tareas, restricciones y objetivos relacionados con la misión. En ATM, los movimientos de un avión en la superficie de aeropuerto también tienen que ser monitorizados y gestionados. Otro lenguaje formal ha sido diseñado con este propósito, llamado surface movement description language (SMDL). Este lenguaje no pertenece a la jerarquía de lenguajes descrita en el párrafo anterior, y se basa en las clearances (autorizaciones del controlador) utilizadas durante las operaciones en superficie de aeropuerto. También proporciona medios para expresar incertidumbre y posibilidad de cambios en las distintas partes de la trayectoria. Finalmente, esta tesis explora las aplicaciones de estos lenguajes a la predicción de trayectorias y a la planificación de misiones. El concepto de trajectory language processing engine (TLPE) se usa en ambas aplicaciones. Un TLPE es una función de ATM cuya principal entrada y salida se expresan en cualquiera de los lenguajes incluidos en la jerarquía descrita en esta tesis. El proceso de predicción de trayectorias puede definirse como una combinación de TLPEs, cada uno de los cuales realiza una pequeña sub-tarea. Se le ha dado especial importancia a uno de estos TLPEs, que se encarga de generar el perfil horizontal, vertical y de configuración de la trayectoria. En particular, esta tesis presenta un método novedoso para la generación del perfil vertical. El proceso de planificar una misión también se puede ver como un TLPE donde la entrada se expresa en MIDL y la salida consiste en cierto número de trayectorias —una por cada aeronave disponible— descritas utilizando FIDL. Se ha formulado este problema utilizando programación entera mixta. Además, dado que encontrar caminos óptimos entre distintos puntos es un problema fundamental en la planificación de misiones, también se propone un algoritmo de búsqueda de caminos. Este algoritmo permite calcular rápidamente caminos cuasi-óptimos que esquivan todos los obstáculos en un entorno urbano. Los diferentes lenguajes formales definidos en esta tesis pueden utilizarse como una especificación estándar para la difusión de información entre distintos actores de la gestión del tráfico aéreo. En conjunto, estos lenguajes permiten describir trayectorias con el nivel de detalle necesario en cada aplicación, y se pueden utilizar para aumentar el nivel de automatización explotando esta información utilizando sistemas de soporte a la toma de decisiones. La aplicación de estos lenguajes a algunas funciones básicas de estos sistemas, como la predicción de trayectorias, han sido analizadas. ABSTRACT Future air traffic management (ATM) will require a paradigm shift from today’s mainly tactical ATM to trajectory-based operations (TBOs). An increase in the level of automation will also relieve humans —air traffic control officers (ATCOs), flight crew, etc.— from many of the tasks they perform today. Humans will still be central in this future ATM, as decision-makers and managers. These two improvements (TBOs and increased automation) are expected to provide the increase in ATM performance that will allow coping with the expected increase in air transport demand. Under TBOs, trajectories are negotiated between the airspace user (an airline, pilot, or operator) and the air navigation service provider (ANSP) using a collaborative decision making (CDM) process. A suitable method for sharing aircraft trajectories is necessary for this negotiation. Sharing a whole trajectory would require a high amount of bandwidth, and the shared trajectory might become invalid if the weather forecast changed. Instead, a description of the trajectory, decoupled from the weather conditions, could be shared, so that the actual trajectory could be computed from this trajectory description. This trajectory description should be easy to process using a computing program —as some of the CDM processes will be automated— but also easy to understand for a human operator —who will be supervising the process and making decisions. This thesis presents a series of formal languages that can be used for this purpose. These languages provide the means to describe aircraft trajectories during all phases of flight, from push back to arrival at the gate. They can also describe trajectories of both manned and unmanned aircraft, including fixedwing and some rotary-wing aircraft (quadrotors). Some of these languages are tightly interrelated and organized in a language hierarchy. One of the key languages in this hierarchy, the aircraft intent description language (AIDL), had already been developed prior to this thesis. This language was derived from the equations of motion of fixed-wing aircraft, and can provide an unambiguous description of fixed-wing aircraft trajectories. A variant of this language, the quadrotor AIDL (QR-AIDL), is developed in this thesis to allow describing a quadrotor aircraft trajectory with the same level of detail. Then, the intent composite description language (ICDL) is built on top of these two languages, providing more flexibility to describe some parts of the trajectory while leaving others unspecified. The ICDL is used to provide generic descriptions of common aircraft manoeuvres, which can be particularized and combined to form complex descriptions of flight. Another language is built on top of the ICDL, the flight intent description language (FIDL). The FIDL specifies high-level requirements on trajectories —including constraints and objectives—, but can use features of the ICDL to provide arbitrary levels of detail in different parts of the flight. The ICDL and FIDL have been developed in collaboration with Boeing Research & Technology Europe (BR&TE). Also, the mission intent description language (MIDL) has been developed to allow describing missions involving multiple aircraft. This language is based on the FIDL and keeps all its expressive power, while it also provides new semantics for describing mission tasks, mission objectives, and constraints involving several aircraft. In ATM, the movement of aircraft while on the airport surface also has to be monitored and managed. Another formal language has been designed for this purpose, denoted surface movement description language (SMDL). This language does not belong to the language hierarchy described above, and it is based on the clearances used in airport surface operations. Means to express uncertainty and mutability of different parts of the trajectory are also provided. Finally, the applications of these languages to trajectory prediction and mission planning are explored in this thesis. The concept of trajectory language processing engine (TLPE) is used in these two applications. A TLPE is an ATM function whose main input and output are expressed in any of the languages in the hierarchy described in this thesis. A modular trajectory predictor is defined as a combination of multiple TLPEs, each of them performing a small subtask. Special attention is given to the TLPE that builds the horizontal, vertical, and configuration profiles of the trajectory. In particular, a novel method for the generation of the vertical profile is presented. The process of planning a mission can also be seen as a TLPE, where the main input is expressed in the MIDL and the output consists of a number of trajectory descriptions —one for each aircraft available in the mission— expressed in the FIDL. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation for the problem of assigning mission tasks to the available aircraft is provided. In addition, since finding optimal paths between locations is a key problem to mission planning, a novel path finding algorithm is presented. This algorithm can compute near-shortest paths avoiding all obstacles in an urban environment in very short times. The several formal languages described in this thesis can serve as a standard specification to share trajectory information among different actors in ATM. In combination, these languages can describe trajectories with the necessary level of detail for any application, and can be used to increase automation by exploiting this information using decision support tools (DSTs). Their applications to some basic functions of DSTs, such as trajectory prediction, have been analized.